Escaping Europe: health and human capital of Holocaust refugees

Abstract

The large-scale persecution of European Jews during the Second World War generated massive refugee movements. We study the last wave of Holocaust refugees with a newly compiled dataset of mostly Jewish passengers from several European countries traveling from Lisbon to New York between 1940 and 1942. We find most countries experienced substantial losses in human and health capital, especially from women. In spite of the unique circumstances of this historical setting, this episode of migration displays well-known selection features: early migrants were taller than late migrants, a large migrant stock reduces migrant selectivity, and economic barriers to migration apply.